Hans Chew

Sometime in 2010 the CD that comes with Uncut Magazine threw up a name which intrigued. Noting 'Hans' and knowing how the Americana genre is rippling out from the the land of its birth and spawning all kinds of The Band-derived artists from Scandanavia to Singapore I half expected a vaguely country/ Teutonic experience. Instead, what leapt out of the car stereo was piano-driven southern blues that had me shaking my head in a kind of silent ecstasy, content in the knowledge that I'd found another unknown artist to explore.

The album from which the track was lifted - 'Tennessee and Other Stories' - was an instant classic. The influences, from Jerry Lee Lewis to John Prine, were undermined by the intelligence, singularity and originality of the songs. There were also shards of Leon Russell and definite echoes of the darker recesses of Nick Cave at work. His cover of Tim Rose's 'Long Time Man' was a daring choice and added a gritty texture to a collection that just flew along. I was absolutely convinced that this was a musician of special talent.

I tweeted him and a regular dialogue was established. My girlfriend and I went to see him on his first solo tour in Leicester supporting Darden Smith. We met him and his fiance in the pub beforehand and (as well as cadging a lift to the venue) struck up an immediate rapport (as much about British football as music, I should say). There must have been less than thirty people at the gig but he played as if his life depended on it. He returned to New York promising to return.

Which he did, last week and almost a year to the day. I met him again at his first show in Sheffield and then again twenty minutes up the road from Leeds in the very un-rock and roll market town of Otley. This time round he's acompanied by the impressive David Cavallo on guitar and has a batch of new songs destined for a second album. He is a remarkable piano player blessed with a voice which adds light and shade to the wonderfully propulsive songs  - that 'high lonesome sound' borne out of New Orleans gospel. Cavallo's Telecaster adds an edge to the live show - the rootsy blues of the piano is shredded (in a good way) by a series of solos which create a real frisson around the room. This is ambitious stuff, a clash of instruments that send the older songs travelling in completely different directions to the recorded versions.

Am I biased? I suppose so. Hans is a man without ego - definitely a 'mate'. We bond about a lot of stuff but his talent is there for all to see. I can't wait for his new album and the promise - yes the PROMISE - of a full band tour.

I wanted to take some live footage in Otley but my phone let me down. This is from a previous show in Cornwall and underneath is some older footage that gives a good idea of the man's power.

http://www.hanschew.com/